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theguardian.com
Software sell-off over AI fears hits global stock markets, but FTSE 100 hits record on £8bn insurance takeover – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsBen Barringer, head of technology research at wealth manager Quilter Cheviot,says investors are ‘shunning’ the software market due to uncertainty over AI’s potential, and the disruption it could cause: “All innovation means there is going to be disruption at some point, and we appear to be at a significant point in that journey for software and IT services companies. The launch of the Claude Cowork agent has sent share prices of these companies into a spin, and this is hurting other tech names too.“We are not yet at the point where AI agents will destroy software companies, especially given concerns around security, data ownership and use, but this market rout suggests the potential disruption that is on the cards for markets in the coming days, weeks and months. There is a lot of uncertainty around exactly what AI agents can do, and as such investors are choosing to shun the software market altogether, leaving nowhere to hide. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Euro zone inflation cools to 1.7% in January, flash data shows
Euro zone inflation cooled to 1.7% in January, flash data from statistics agency Eurostat showed Wednesday.
theguardian.com
Santander takes fresh swipe at City watchdog as its car loan scandal bill tops £460m
UK arm brands FCA’s compensation scheme ‘overreach’ as Spanish owner signs surprise $12bn takeover of Webster Bank in USSantander has accused the City watchdog of overreach after its bill for the UK motor finance scandal reached £461m, as the Spanish lender signed a $12bn takeover of an American bank.The bank – which announced the surprise takeover of US-based Webster Bank on Tuesday night – took a fresh swipe at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Wednesday over a compensation scheme for the scandal. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Gold rebounds above $5,000 after US downs Iran drone
Precious metal price voliatility continues as geopolitical tensions push investors to safe-haven assets.
cnbc.com
Trump says India won't buy Russian oil anymore. Moscow insists India hasn't said that
Analysts are skeptical that India will stop buying Russian oil completely.
cnbc.com
Here's who analysts expect to gain from India’s U.S. and EU trade deals
Analysts said back-to-back trade deals with the U.S. and EU could lift pharma, manufacturing and IT stocks.
cnbc.com
Chinese solar stocks rally on reports Elon Musk's Space X, Tesla staff visited suppliers
Shares of Chinese solar panel makers surged after a team of staff sent by Elon Musk had reportedly visited several photovoltaic suppliers in China.
cnbc.com
UBS beats expectations with $1.2 billion fourth-quarter profit, plans $3 billion buyback
UBS reported its fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday.
cnbc.com
Gold extends gains, breaking past $5,000; Asia stocks trade mostly higher, breaking ranks with Wall Street
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose, breaking ranks with Wall Street as a sell-off in U.S. technology stocks weighed on sentiment.
bbc.com
What's going on with the price of gold?
Gold has fallen from recent highs but there are several reasons investors are still finding refuge in the precious metal.
cnbc.com
Novo Nordisk shares tumble 18% as CEO warns it will get worse before it gets better
Just as Novo Nordisk showed signs of a recovery, another cold shower hit investors as the drugmaker surprise prereleased its 2026 forecast late Tuesday, sending shares tumbling.
cnbc.com
Asian software stocks plunge after U.S. peers decline on fears over AI-led disruption
Wall Street's fears around artificial intelligence-driven disruption affecting software companies have made their way into Asia.
theguardian.com
Rail firm issues ‘do not travel’ alert after ‘multiple incidents’ across south-east England
Signalling issue and train derailment in south London hits Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express servicesA “do not travel” alert has been issued by the UK’s largest railway franchise, after a train derailment and signalling issues affected services across south-east England.Train operators Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express – all part of the Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) franchise in south-east England – urged passengers not to travel on Wednesday morning “if at all possible” because of “multiple incidents”. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
A whiff of familiarity in Mandelson’s 2009 collusion with the banks
For Labour veterans of the financial crisis the Epstein files revealed a betrayal – but 16 years on, is the City calling the shots? Today’s advocates of a windfall tax on the UK’s highly profitable banking sector detected a whiff of familiarity in Peter Mandelson’s suggestion, back in 2009, that JP Morgan should “mildly threaten” the chancellor.Feeding a Wall Street financier market sensitive titbits was an extraordinary breach of trust – perhaps even illegal, it seems – but for Labour veterans of the financial crisis, Mandelson’s collusion with the banks against his own colleagues was the worst betrayal. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Venezuela tells China oil prices won't be set by the U.S., seeks to reassure investment after Maduro capture
Venezuela assured Beijing that its oil pricing will not be dictated by the U.S. and that Chinese investment in the South American country will remain secure.
cnbc.com
KKR and Singtel to take full ownership of data center firm STT GDC for about $5 billion
The deal pegs the enterprise value at S$13.8 billion.
cnbc.com
CNBC Daily Open: UBS posts strong earnings while Novo Nordisk's U.S. shares crater on slowing growth
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday that there's "no drama involved" between the company and OpenAI. "Everything's on track," he added.
cnbc.com
CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: For Chinese businesses, it's not about which AI is the smartest
While U.S.-China AI competition has focused on intelligence, businesses in China have a different benchmark for choosing AI tools.
cnbc.com
CNBC's UK Exchange newsletter: The pressure’s on Shell to beat once again
With Shell’s results on the horizon, questions remain over the pace of earnings growth in years to come — despite evidence that it is one of the best-run companies in its sector.
theguardian.com
Getting ready to remortgage? Here’s how to get the best rates
With 1.8m fixed-rate deals due to end this year, now’s the time to dig out the details and look at what’s on offer About 1.8m fixed-rate mortgage deals are due to end in 2026, and most of these borrowers will need to get a new home loan. If that includes you, but you are not sure when your deal expires, dig out the details. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Oil giants brace for a bruising earnings season — with shareholder returns at risk
A weaker crude price environment has ramped up the pressure on Big Oil’s commitment to allocating cash to shareholders.
bbc.com
Pinterest sacks workers for creating tool to track layoffs
The social media platform recently announced that it was axing around 15% of its workforce.
theguardian.com
When Maga oligarchs control the platforms, it isn’t really a debate about ‘free speech’ | Rafael Behr
Moves to ban under-16s from social media should raise deeper questions about who controls democracy’s digital infrastructureThe last UK general election of the 20th century was also the first to anticipate, albeit faintly, the coming technological revolution. The 1997 Labour and Conservative manifestos both included pledges to connect schools to something they called “the information superhighway”.That metaphor soon fell out of use, unmourned, although it contains an interesting policy implication. Roads need rules to prevent accidents. Superhighways do not sound like the kind of places where children should play.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnistGuardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink? On Monday 30 April, ahead of May elections join Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr as they discuss how much of a threat is Labour from both the Green party and Reform and whether Keir Starmer can survive as leader of the Labour party? Book tickets here or at guardian.live Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Nintendo shares sink 10% as gaming giant faces memory shortage concerns
Nintendo is facing pressure this year from a shortage in memory chips — a key component in its gaming consoles — that has resulted in surging prices.
theguardian.com
Zero net migration would shrink UK economy by 3.6%, says thinktank
Jump of £37bn in budget deficit by 2040 would force government to increase taxes, NIESR predictsThe UK economy would be 3.6% smaller by 2040 if net migration fell to zero, forcing the government to raise taxes to combat a much bigger budget deficit, a thinktank has predicted.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said falling birthrates in the UK and a sharp decrease in net migration last year had led it to consider what would happen if this trend continued to the end of the decade. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Fed's Stephen Miran resigns from White House post
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran has stepped down from his position as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, CNBC has confirmed.
theguardian.com
The people betting on catastrophic world events – podcast
Prediction markets allow you to put money on everything from the US attacking Iran to Jesus returning. Saahil Desai explains their dizzying riseIn the early hours of 3 January, Donald Trump ordered a surprise attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to kidnap the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro. Millions of Venezuelans’ lives were thrown into uncertainty. Politicians at home and abroad scrambled to respond. It seemed this was something no one had seen coming. Except one person did actually predict it.In the hours before the attack, someone - and we have no way of knowing who - placed a series of bets that Donald Trump would oust Maduro on a prediction market platform, netting them nearly $500,000 when it happened. These platforms allow their users not just to bet on whoever’s going to win the Super Bowl, but also on world events. Heavily regulated under the Biden administration, these apps have enjoyed a huge boom in popularity since Trump came to power. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
'Muskonomy' shakeup: SpaceX valuation approaches Tesla's after merger with xAI
Elon Musk is now overseeing two companies worth over $1 trillion, at least on paper.
cnbc.com
CNBC Daily Open: Nvidia denies rift with OpenAI, while software and asset management stocks plunge
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Tuesday that there's "no drama involved" between the company and OpenAI. "Everything's on track," he added.
bbc.com
X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok
Elon Musk's X and Grok platforms are facing increased scrutiny from authorities on both sides of the channel.
theguardian.com
Women in tech and finance at higher risk from AI job losses, report says
‘Mid-career’ females also being sidelined by rigid hiring processes, says City of London CorporationWomen working in tech and financial services are at greater risk of losing their jobs to increased use of AI and automation than their male peers, according to a report that found experienced females were also being sidelined as a result of “rigid hiring processes”.“Mid-career” women – with at least five years’ experience – are being overlooked for digital roles in the tech and financial and professional services sectors, where they are traditionally underrepresented, according to the report by the City of London Corporation. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Microsoft promotes sales leaders as company pursues AI growth
Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft's commercial business, wants to reduce the customer feedback loop as the company sells artificial intelligence services.
bbc.com
Netflix and Warner Bros struggle to defend merger
Concerns were raised by a subcommittee including potential price rises and the future of cinemas.
cnbc.com
AMD shares drop as forecast comes up short of some expectations
AMD's first-quarter forecast fell short of what some analysts were hoping for amid an AI spending boom.
cnbc.com
How one country is engineering its way out of a construction cost crisis
While a building boom is good for the economy, it presents challenges, with construction costs in Singapore consistently ranked among the highest in the world.
bbc.com
The Chinese planemaker taking on Boeing and Airbus
Comac's passenger jet is attracting customers in South East Asia where demand for affordable aircraft is growing.
cnbc.com
Bitcoin briefly breaks below $73,000 to lowest since November 2024 as heavy selling resumes
Bitcoin fell below $73,000 on Tuesday as investors sold the asset to hedge against heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
theguardian.com
Netflix co-CEO grilled by US senators over Warner Bros Discovery merger
While most focused on competition issues, Josh Hawley accused Netflix of promoting trans content to childrenNetflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos faced tough questioning over whether the streamer is “overwhelmingly woke” or killing competition on Tuesday afternoon during a congressional hearing focused on its pending acquisition of the film and streaming assets of Warner Bros Discovery.The hearing was conducted by the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy, and consumer rights. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer for Warner Bros Discovery, also testified in the packed Senate hearing room. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Nvidia's Jensen Huang denies OpenAI deal rumors: 'There's no drama'
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the chipmaker's plan to invest in OpenAI remains "on track."
cnbc.com
U.S. military says it shot down Iranian drone that 'aggressively approached' aircraft carrier
U.S. Central Command said the drone approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea with "unclear intent."
cnbc.com
Private credit stocks plummet on concern about exposure to software industry disrupted by AI
Shares of stocks with significant private credit market exposure were diving on fears about exposure to the industries being disrupted by artificial intelligence, including software.
theguardian.com
Elon Musk is taking SpaceX’s minority shareholders for a ride | Nils Pratley
Merger with loss-making xAI looks to some investors more like a bailout than a rocket trip to the futureElon Musk merges SpaceX with xAI at $1.25tn valuationTo Elon Musk’s fanclub, there is nothing to see apart from more evidence of the great man’s visionary genius. SpaceX, the rocket firm, is buying xAI, the artificial intelligence developer, and the combination of these two Musk-controlled entities is being valued at $1.25tn (£910bn). Feel the positive vibes ahead of a stock market debut due in June! The most valuable private company in history! The largest ever transaction!Or, as Musk described it, he is creating “the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free-speech platform”. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Disney names Josh D'Amaro as new chief executive
The media giant chooses the head of its amusement park business to replace longtime boss Bob Iger.
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on high-street decline: a symbol of failure in a discontented nation | Editorial
Decaying town centres are fuelling a sense of disillusionment with mainstream parties. Labour’s regeneration strategy must be bolder“In the 60s it was a fabulous place to live,” sighed one resident of the north-east English town of Newton Aycliffe, in an interview published last week as part of our investigation into the state of Britain’s high streets. “The town centre was absolutely beautiful … You would be ashamed to bring someone here now. It’s unrecognisable.”Similar perceptions of decline are now the norm across the nation. In postwar Britain, high streets became the thriving hubs of a more affluent society and a source of local identity and pride. But almost 13,000 shops closed in 2024 – an attrition rate of around 37 a day, which particularly affected the north of England, the Midlands and deprived coastal areas. The emergence of superstores and retail parks, and the post‑pandemic boom in internet shopping, has hollowed out the centres of towns and left a gaping sense of loss.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Walmart becomes first retailer to hit $1tn market value
The milestone reflects the US retail giant's booming e-commerce business and investors' embrace of its AI investments.
theguardian.com
‘Finally got him to go’: how Epstein was given inside track on events that rippled through global markets
Apparent leak by Peter Mandelson gave advance notice of Gordon Brown’s resignation and €500bn eurozone dealOn a brisk Monday evening in May 2010, Gordon Brown stood on the steps of Downing Street and delivered one of the most dramatic announcements of the New Labour era: his resignation as UK prime minister.The decision came days after a nail-biting general election that left no single party with a clear run at No 10. Brown kept his decision, which followed days of political wrangling, to a tight inner circle. Nick Clegg, who would go on to serve as deputy prime minister of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, was formally told of Brown’s resignation only 10 minutes before the announcement. Continue reading...
bbc.com
PepsiCo to cut some US snack prices after backlash
The snack conglomerate is cutting the price of products including Doritos, Cheetos and Lays
theguardian.com
The law on service charges is grossly unfair | Letters
Leaseholders have little or no control over service charges – the system needs urgent attention, writes Chris Wallis.While your editorial on leasehold reform (29 January) is right to say that action on ground rents is long overdue, as is the abolition of leasehold altogether, and that the right to manage is a key part of leaseholders taking control of their buildings, it misses a key point: the law around service charges is archaic and deeply unfair.As it currently stands, unless they manage their buildings themselves, leaseholders have little or no control over what service charges are issued, and while the law says they are entitled to see the accounts, managing agents frequently either fail to supply them or do so in a form that does not, quite literally, add up. Forensic accountants would have a field day. And legally, leaseholders are obliged to pay these charges and then challenge them, usually at the first-tier tribunal, where the precedent is that as long as the charges are necessary, ie the work is necessary, and reasonable, ie the cost is reasonable, they have to be paid. The reason for the charge arising in the first place is irrelevant. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
From ‘nerdy’ Gemini to ‘edgy’ Grok: how developers are shaping AI behaviours
AIs are not sentient – but tweaks to their ethical codes can have far-reaching consequences for usersDo you want an AI assistant that gushes about how it “loves humanity” or one that spews sarcasm? How about a political propagandist ready to lie? If so, ChatGPT, Grok and Qwen are at your disposal.Companies that create AI assistants, from the US to China, are increasingly wrestling with how to mould their characters, and it is no abstract debate. This month Elon Musk’s “maximally truth-seeking” Grok AI caused international outrage when it pumped out millions of sexualised images. In October OpenAI retrained ChatGPT to de-escalate conversations with people in mental health distress after it appeared to encourage a 16-year-old to take his own life. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Enforcement is the issue on the decent homes standard | Letters
Dr Stephen Battersby fears that England could be doubling up on underresourced regulatory agenciesWhile the anger at the timeline for enforcing the decent homes standard (DHS) in England might be expected, it is also arguable that enforcing decent home standards is not as difficult as campaigners make out (‘Absurd’: decent homes standard for England’s private renters will not be enforced until 2035, 28 January).Local authorities already have powers and duties to deal with threats to health and safety in both the private rented sector and the social rented sector. The presence of a category 1 hazard would make the home non-decent and local authorities are already under a statutory duty to deal with these. Many of the factors in the revised DHS could give rise to category 2 hazards, which the authorities could also deal with. The issue is lack of enforcement by local authorities using the powers they have already under the Housing Act 2004. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Santander offers 98% mortgage for first-time buyers – with strict rules
Fixed-rate loan will not be available on flats and new-builds, and loan must be no more than 4.45 times salaryOne of Britain’s biggest banks has launched a mortgage that lets first-time buyers borrow up to 98% of the property’s value – but experts said the “very strict” rules would exclude many people and property types.Santander said this was the first time for years that a major high street bank had gone beyond the traditional 95% borrowing limit, and some mortgage brokers called it a “bold and significant” move that would help more first-time buyers achieve their home ownership dreams. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Ray Dalio warns the world is ‘on the brink’ of a capital war
The billionaire Bridgewater founder also weighed in on investing in gold after the metal was gripped by a sharp sell-off.
theguardian.com
The lithium boom: could a disused quarry bring riches to Cornwall?
Known as ‘white gold’, lithium is among the most important mined elements on the planet – ideal for the rechargeable batteries used in tech products. Can Europe’s largest deposit bring prosperity to the local community?It looks more like the past than the future. A vast chasm scooped out of a scarred landscape, this is a Cornwall the summer holidaymakers don’t see: a former china clay pit near St Austell called Trelavour. I’m standing at the edge of the pit looking down with the man who says his plans for it will help the UK’s transition to renewable energy and bring back year-round jobs and prosperity to a part of the country that badly needs both. “And if I manage to make some money in the process, fantastic,” he says. “Though that is not what it’s about.”We’ll return to him shortly. But first to the past, when this story begins, about 275-280m years ago. “There was a continental collision at the time,” Frances Wall, professor of applied mineralogy at the Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter, explained to me before my visit. This collision caused the bottom of the Earth’s crust to melt, with the molten material rising higher in the crust and forming granite. “There are lots of different types of granite that intrude at different times, more than 10m years or so,” she says. “The rock is made of minerals and, if you’ve got the right composition in the original material and the right conditions, then within those minerals there are some called mica. Some of those micas contain lithium.” Continue reading...
bbc.com
Stop watching Netflix and go to the pub, Welsh first minister says
Eluned Morgan said her government can't be expected "to step in and do the work" to save struggling pubs.
theguardian.com
Disney names parks and cruises boss Josh D’Amaro as next CEO
D’Amaro will take over next month from Bob Iger, who returned to lead the media company after a bungled successionDisney has unveiled Josh D’Amaro as its next CEO, drawing a line under a bungled succession at the top of the global entertainment conglomerate.Bob Iger, who led the media giant for 15 years, stepped down in 2020 – only to abruptly return in 2022 when his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, was fired as the company came under pressure. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Spain becomes first country in Europe to ban social media for under-16s
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urges the protection of children from a "digital wild west."
theguardian.com
Disastrous start for US TikTok as users cry censorship
New US-owned app struggled with a storm and was accused of blocking content critical of Trump – can it recover?Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, writing to you from Doha, where I’m moderating panels about AI and investing as part of the Web Summit Qatar.I want to bring your attention to the impact of a Guardian story. In December, we published a story, “‘A black hole’: families and police say tech giants delay investigations in child abuse and drug cases”, about grieving families and law enforcement officers who say that Meta and Snapchat have slowed down criminal investigations. (The tech companies contend that they cooperate.) This month, Colorado lawmakers introduced a bill to compel social media platforms to respond to warrants in 72 hours.Elon Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known, emails showTesla discontinues Model X and S vehicles as Elon Musk pivots to roboticsWhat is Moltbook? The strange new social media site for AI botsThe slopaganda era: 10 AI images posted by the White House – and what they teach usApple reports record iPhone sales as new lineup reignites worldwide demandSouth Korea’s ‘world-first’ AI laws face pushback amid bid to become leading tech powerCan you guess our screen time? A priest, pensioner, tech CEO and teenager reveal all Continue reading...
cnbc.com
World’s largest jeweler falls after analysts warn it will be hit by volatile silver price
While rising costs are squeezing Pandora's margins from one side, a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop is hitting it from the other.
bbc.com
No defect found in switch of jet grounded by Air India - regulator
The Boeing 787-8 jet was grounded after a pilot reported a possible issue with the fuel control switch.
bbc.com
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr buys two rival brands in £50m deal
The company said the two brands reflect the consumer's switch from alcoholic beverages to "adult soft drinks".
bbc.com
One million people miss HMRC tax return deadline
The UK's tax authority says 27,456 people filed in the final hour before the cut-off at the end of Saturday.
bbc.com
EU has 'open mind' on UK customs union debate, says commissioner
Valdis Dombrovskis says the EU is willing to engage with Britain amid mounting global uncertainty.
bbc.com
Musk's SpaceX and xAI merge to make world's most valuable private company
Musk says the combined firm - which has been valued at more than $1tn - will be an "innovation engine".
theguardian.com
UK shoppers buy more fruit and yoghurt in healthy start to 2026
Britons cut back in January after record grocery spending in December, turning to own-label productsBusiness live – latest updatesBritons started 2026 by buying more healthy food such as fruit and yoghurt as they attempted to hit new year health goals, while grocery price inflation eased to the lowest level since April, research has shown.Annual grocery inflation fell back to 4% in the four weeks to 25 January from 4.7% in December, offering some relief for shoppers, according to a monthly snapshot of the grocery sector from the research company Worldpanel by Numerator. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
HMRC thinks I am someone else – and it’s costing me £450 a month
Tax authority has associated a stranger’s national insurance number to my own, and is charging me as if I have two jobsIn November, HM Revenue and Customs randomly associated someone else’s job to my national insurance (NI) number. I can see where they work, when they started, their payroll number and how much they are earning.HMRC is now taxing me as if I have two jobs, earning twice as much as I do, and adding on a tax adjustment for the tax it thinks I didn’t pay last year. It’s costing me about £450 a month in extra tax and NI contributions. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Hope and uncertainty as India and US strike long-delayed trade deal
Indian industry has welcomed lower tariffs, but experts caution against celebration until details are clearer.
bbc.com
Fears over impact if free car parking removed
Cornwall Council is consulting on proposals to remove free parking from 13 of its car parks.
theguardian.com
Student loans: why is Martin Lewis clashing with Rachel Reeves?
MoneySavingExpert founder has said changes that will lead to some graduates in England and Wales paying more are ‘not moral’Graduates in England and Wales: share your views on student loan repaymentsA fairly technical-sounding change to student loans tucked away in last November’s budget has become the catalyst for an increasingly bad-tempered row pitting the UK consumer champion Martin Lewis against the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.In one interview, Lewis – the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, who boasts a vast following – said he did not think the planned change to repayment terms “was a moral thing”. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Interest rates: RBA concedes hike to 3.85% is ‘not the news mortgage holders want to hear’ – video
The governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Michele Bullock, says she empathises with mortgage holders but defends Tuesday’s decision to lift the cash rate for the first time in more than two years. ‘Now, I know this is not the news that Australians with mortgages want to hear, but it is the right thing for the economy,’ says the governorRBA interest rates decision: Reserve Bank increases cash rate to 3.85% in blow to mortgage holders Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Riverford sales rise 6% as UK organics market enjoys biggest boom in two decades
Sector bounces back as consumers focus on provenance and healthy eating, but is still well behind EuropeConsumers searching for healthy food from trusted sources have fuelled the UK organic market’s biggest boom in two decades, according to vegetable box seller Riverford.The delivery business, which sells meat, cheese, cookbooks and recipe boxes alongside vegetables, recorded a 6% increase in sales to £117m in the year to May 2025, as the UK organic food and drink market grew by almost 9% in that year, according to new figures from the Soil Association. The strong growth, significantly outpacing the wider food market, helped the employee-owned business give a £1.1m bonus to workers. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
‘Deepfakes spreading and more AI companions’: seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report
Annual review highlights growing capabilities of AI models, while examining issues from cyber-attacks to job disruptionThe International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market.Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the “daunting challenges” posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu. Continue reading...
cnbc.com
Is silver a meme trade? How the metal became 'GameStop in 2026'
Silver's rapid surge and equally dramatic reversal ignited questions among investors: when does an asset start behaving like a meme?
cnbc.com
SoftBank subsidiary to work with Intel on next-gen memory for AI
A SoftBank subsidiary has signed a collaboration agreement with Intel to commercialize "next-generation memory technology."
theguardian.com
Will China replace the US on the world stage? – podcast
A succession of political leaders have been trooping to Beijing in recent months. Is it an indication of a new world order? Tania Branigan explainsXi Jinping had a busy January. First came the Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin. Then it was Mark Carney of Canada’s turn. He was followed by the Finnish prime minister, the Uruguayan president and then, last week, Keir Starmer.But what does this rush to China mean? The Guardian leader writer Tania Branigan says much of it is to do with Trump. “There are real opportunities that people see in China – and at a point where the US looks so erratic, so hostile to people who have traditionally been among its staunchest allies. There is a sense that it just makes sense,” she tells Helen Pidd. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Trump unveils $12bn critical minerals stockpile scheme in apparent move to counter China’s dominance
Other countries are expected to join Project Vault, which US president said would ensure that US businesses are ‘never harmed by any shortage’Donald Trump has announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve worth nearly $12bn, a stockpile that could counter China’s ability to use its dominance of the hard-to-process metals as leverage in trade talks.“Today we’re launching what will be known as Project Vault to ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. Continue reading...
bbc.com
China bans hidden car door handles over safety concerns
It makes China the first country to stop the use of designs first made popular by Elon Musk's Tesla.
bbc.com
The yachting industry searches for alternatives to teak
Prized for its beauty, teak is in short supply, forcing the yacht industry to look for alternatives.
theguardian.com
Barnsley rebranded UK’s first ‘tech town’ as US giants join AI push
Minister announces Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe to help apply AI to local schools, hospitals, GPs and businessesIn 2002 Barnsley toyed with a redesign as a Tuscan hill village as it sought out a brighter post-industrial future. In 2021 it adopted the airily vague slogan “the place of possibilities”. Now it is trying a different image: Britain’s first “tech town”.The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, has anointed the South Yorkshire community as a trailblazer for “how AI can improve everyday life” in the UK. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Gold and silver prices fall but FTSE 100 hits record high
Precious metal prices hit record highs in January as investors parked their money in "safe havens".
bbc.com
Disney warns of hit from flagging foreign visits
The company says international visits to its US parks are weakening, with analysts pointing to President Donald Trump's policies.
bbc.com
Warning for sellers amid rollercoaster gold and silver prices
Experts say there are things to consider before selling off your gold or silver.
bbc.com
Captain guilty of North Sea tanker crash death
Vladimir Motin is convicted of gross negligence manslaughter after a crew member died in the crash.
theguardian.com
Damning EU report lays bare bloc’s ‘dangerous dependence’ on critical mineral imports
Auditor calls renewable energy targets ‘unrealistic’ unless ‘EU ups its game’ in mining, refining and recycling of metals such as rare earthsThe EU is struggling to free itself from dependence on China and countries in the global south for critical minerals and rare earths needed for everything from smartphones to wind turbines and military jets.A damning report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in Luxembourg found that the bloc’s targets for 2030 were “out of reach” because of lack of progress in domestic production, refining and recycling. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Graduates in England and Wales: share your views on student loan repayments
We’d like to hear from graduates about how they’re faring with paying back student loans. Have you experienced large increases in outstanding debt? In last year’s budget Rachel Reeves froze the salary threshold for plan 2 loan repayments for three years from April 2027 – which means borrowers will have to pay even more towards their student loans as they benefit from pay rises.Student finance is made up of a tuition fee loan, which covers course fees and is paid directly to the university, and a maintenance loan, which is designed to help with costs such as rent and food. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Faisal Islam: Mandelson, Darling and the conversation I can't forget
The Epstein files appear to give extraordinary context to a call between the former chancellor and JP Morgan's boss.
theguardian.com
UK investor Michael Flacks ‘very interested in British Steel takeover’
Businessman, who says he is a ‘big, bullish believer’, would combine Scunthorpe steelworks with Italian plantBusiness news – latest updatesThe British investor Michael Flacks is reportedly “very” interested in buying British Steel and combining it with another plant in Italy, in a deal that would create one of Europe’s largest metals groups.The businessman’s Miami-based investment group, Flacks Group, which specialises in buying distressed companies, is working with bankers to prepare a bid for government-controlled Scunthorpe steelworks, the Financial Times reported. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Drivers can compare fuel prices at different petrol stations - how does it work?
Pump price changes will have to be shared in a government database within 30 minutes.
bbc.com
The 'fantastic' baby bundles not every mum will get
Baby boxes are being delivered to expectant families in some of Wales' most deprived areas.
theguardian.com
Is Trump winning or losing his war on offshore wind power?
The US president tried to kill offshore wind projects – now four are back under constructionConstruction has resumed on four offshore wind mega-projects after they survived a near-fatal attack by Donald Trump’s administration thanks to rulings by federal judges. These are being seen as victories for clean energy amid a wider war being waged on it by the Trump administration.The windfarms are considered critical by grid planners as America faces an energy affordability crisis. Together, the four projects will contribute nearly five gigawatts of energy to the east coast, enough to power 3.5m homes. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Most of Great Britain’s major rail operators are back in public hands – is it working?
Explore the Guardian’s tracker to see which operators are nationalised and if services are improving under public ownershipThe majority of Great Britain’s major rail operators are now in public ownership, as the Labour government continues its efforts to make the railways “more reliable, affordable and accessible”.The nationalisation of West Midlands Trains on 1 February represents the tenth major passenger service to be brought back into public ownership, leaving six to go before the government’s deadline of completing every operator by 2027. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Self-driving taxis are coming to London – should we be worried? | Jack Stilgoe
Waymo’s cars were first rolled out in San Francisco, but the English capital’s old roads, pelican crossings and jaywalkers may pose issues for AIAt the end of the 19th century, the world’s major cities had a problem. The streets were flooded with manure, the unintended consequence of dependence on horses as the major form of transport. In this sea of filth, the infant car industry smelled an opportunity. The Horseless Age, a US car magazine, claimed in 1896 that, with the spread of motorcars, “streets will be cleaner, jams and blockades less likely to occur, and accidents less frequent, for the horse is not so manageable as a mechanical vehicle”. The streets did eventually become cleaner, but not safer. Cars brought huge benefits to society, but also huge challenges. By the end of the 20th century, cars and motorbikes were implicated in more than a million deaths a year around the world, as well as contributing to pollution and suburban sprawl.This story is often told to show that the inevitable march of innovation brings both solutions and problems. However, there was nothing inevitable about US cities becoming dominated by cars. As the historian Peter Norton describes in his book Fighting Traffic, it was a direct result of lobbying by the US car industry. It campaigned for the removal of public transport, the banning of jaywalking and the redesign of streets. The advent of the car in the US is a useful cautionary tale as we consider the introduction of self-driving cars into our lives – especially in the UK.Jack Stilgoe is a professor in science and technology studies at University College London Continue reading...
bbc.com
Starbucks bets on robots to brew a turnaround in customers
Chief executive Brian Niccol explains why he thinks AI will help the coffee giant regain its buzz.
bbc.com
Harry Styles and Anthony Joshua among UK's top taxpayers
The former One Direction member-turned-solo artist appears on the Sunday Times list for the first time.
bbc.com
French tech giant Capgemini to sell US subsidiary working for ICE
The firm's move comes amid global scrutiny of the methods used by the US immigration enforcement agency.
theguardian.com
The long-term cost of high student debt in the UK is not just for graduates | Heather Stewart
Labour’s changes to the student loan system have turned frustration into full-blown fury, which is likely to benefit its opponents at the ballot boxStudent loans: ‘My debt rose £20,000 to £77,000 even though I’m paying’“It is not right that people who don’t go to university are having to bear all the cost for others to do so,” Rachel Reeves remarked this week, amid the increasingly angry row about student loans.But if something is “not right” here, it’s the complex and confusing loan system, and the debt burden borne by some recent graduates of English and Welsh universities. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Why TikTok’s first week of American ownership was a disaster
App endured a major outage and user backlash over perceived censorship. Now it’s facing an inquiry by the California governor and an ascendant competitorA little more than one week ago, TikTok stepped on to US shores as a naturalized citizen. Ever since, the video app has been fighting for its life.TikTok’s calamitous emigration began on 22 January when its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, finalized a deal to sell the app to a group of US investors, among them the business software giant Oracle. The app’s time under Chinese ownership had been marked by a meteoric ascent to more than a billion users, which left incumbents such as Instagram looking like the next Myspace. But TikTok’s short new life in the US has been less than auspicious. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Rare earths and data centres: India pushes local industry as global tensions rise
India's budget focuses on infrastructure and defence spending and tax breaks for data-centre investments.
bbc.com
Asda has lost its mojo and has a big fight to get it back
The industry data suggests that despite Asda embarking on a turnaround, it has been losing ground to rivals.
theguardian.com
Can French Connection make FCUK fashionable again?
With a North American licensing deal under its belt, the reinvented high-street giant is growing again under new owners and a global strategyFrench Connection is back on the trail of global expansion with the aid of its cheeky initials-based slogan that made it so popular in the late 1990s.The label once known for clothes bearing FCUK is seeking to reinvent itself again under the ownership of a group of British entrepreneurs based in the north of England who rescued it in 2021. Continue reading...
bbc.com
Will Trump's pick to lead US central bank get him the change he wants?
Opinion is divided over whether Warsh will align with the US president's views over how the Federal Reserve should be run.
theguardian.com
Is it time to break up with US big tech? - The Latest
With Donald Trump tearing up the world order, governments across Europe are having to confront the fact that most of the technology they rely on comes from US companies. French officials have taken a step this week to reduce their dependence on US digital infrastructure, announcing they have stopped using Zoom, the US-owned video meeting software, in favour of a French-made program. But how viable is this? And what are the risks? The Guardian’s Michael Safi speaks to the tech journalist Chris Stokel-Walker Continue reading...
bbc.com
How Guest Dragon Jenna Meek likes to do business
Jenna Meek joins the Dragons' Den as a guest for the first time.
bbc.com
Visit the North Sea oil field used to store greenhouse gas
Hundreds of miles from Denmark's coast a project is underway to inject CO2 into an old oil field.
bbc.com
The Apprentice is back! Meet the new candidates
Twenty candidates are hoping to secure a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar.
bbc.com
'You don't feel judged': Why we buy more at self-service terminals
How restaurants and retailers use behavioural science to get us to increase our spending.
bbc.com
Watch: Why Trump is hitting the road to rally Americans
The BBC's White House reporter Bernd Debusmann explains why the president is refocusing his attention on the US economy.
bbc.com
Can India be a player in the computer chip industry?
India is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in building up a computer chip industry.
bbc.com
Caribbean cannabis growers eye budding domestic sales and exports
Producers in Jamaica and Antigua hope that increasing liberalisation will lead to higher revenues.
bbc.co.uk
Good Bad Billionaire
How Gymshark's Ben Francis went from pizza delivery boy to the UK’s youngest billionaire
bbc.com
1975: Could you do your food shop just once a year?
Grocery shopping with a couple who bought all their supplies yearly rather than weekly.
bbc.com
Trump covets mineral-rich Greenland, but what natural resources does it actually have?
Greenland's natural resources include large reserves of rare earth deposits.
bbc.com
AI ready: The advantages of being a young entrepreneur
The latest generation of entrepreneurs have a head-start with AI but also face familiar challenges.
bbc.com
How Slovakia became the world's number one carmaker
The European country is the biggest autos manufacturer relative to the size of its population.
bbc.com
Trump says tiny cars are amazing but will Americans actually buy them?
The president wants to bring to the US tiny vehicles, like those commonly seen on the streets of Japan.
bbc.com
Are 'tech dense' farms the future of farming?
A host of technology is on offer to farmers, promising to raise farming yields and lower food prices.
bbc.com
The real impact of roadworks on the country - and why they're set to get worse
There is a fine balance between the benefits of improved infrastructure, versus the cost of disruption. Does the country have it right?
bbc.com
Why the railways often seem to be in such chaos over Christmas
Parts of Britain’s rail network will close for engineering work over the festive period - but is that the right time to do it?
bbc.com
Budget 2025: What's the best and worst that could happen for Labour?
Three days in, after a tax U-turn and partial climbdown on workers' rights, Laura Kuenssberg looks at what impact Budget week might have.
bbc.com
Has Britain's budget watchdog become too all-powerful?
Ahead of this week's Budget, some have accused the Office for Budget Responsibility of being a "straitjacket on growth"
bbc.com
The curious case of why Poundland is struggling during a cost-of-living crisis
Why - in an age where so many of us are feeling the financial pinch - are some budget shops on UK high streets having such a tough time?
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